15 Belly Full of Anger

"I think you seem to have something confused here, I am offering compensation out of the ....." There was a sneer on his face as he continued his sentence, "kindness in my heart. You really think you are worth 12 million?"

Hearing his words she wasn't surprised to see how quickly he switched up his behaviour. A second ago he was offering her a reward and now he had entered a combative mode. When he had first pulled her up, she had stood still trying to lessen her presence as much as possible. She felt no pity for the arrogant woman in front of her. It was obvious that she should have stopped when he was leaving peacefully, to scream and lose your temper in public was entirely her fault. It may sound cruel and in her past life she was naive for sure, but societal etiquette were weapons for the upper class. These fake pretences and ability to keep her emotions were engrained her from childhood. For a situation like this, she would have fought back in a more subtle way and let go when she realized she was losing. She had her own temper of course, there would be a couple of verbal jabs but to scream in a store? Especially to tell him that you were desired by many and he was stupid to not chose you? Out of all the words she could use to describe it was "pathetic" because her fake white lotus act was clear to all that mattered.

Her interest didn't stay long on the woman, she had no right to look down on her when she took into consideration her own situation. She held distaste for the act but who was she to judge? What mattered right now was how she was going to get out of the situation. Her wrist was still in his hold until he gently let go of it. She saw him move slightly in front of her blocking her partially from view but also gave her no room to escape. Pulling her hand back to her side she kept it close to her side and her other tight on the handkerchief. If she tried to leave right now her bags would be left behind and she needed them. She could also just wait it out and follow him out as he goes but who knew when that would be, every second standing here was extremely awkward. As she was calculating time she saw him turn towards the staff on the side while simultaneously pulling out his wallet. "I'm placing the money for the coffee cup and this lady's meal on the table, if its not enough talk to the mall director and have him pay. Anything further, is not my responsibility."

It was as this point she realized that she had not even finished her food. A second ago she was scared of this man but the food was the straw that broke her figurative camel. A belly full of grievance filled her as she felt sorrow over her forgone sandwich. Under the past two days she had been under tremendous stress to survive and could barely digest any meals in her house. Today, it was the day she could step outside and start her plan towards escaping and everything was going well till she stupidly chose this restaurant. 'It looked nice' she thought, oh how she wished she could beat up her previous self. A simple desire to get food landed her in this spotlight and even know she did not know if someone was reporting this to her brother. Considering the amount of times she was shopping and her observation in the morning she was safe, though she didn't know for sure. Yet, it was this man who was to blame for all of this!

Her mind was storming with things she could say when he leaned down to her and whispered, "I suggest you follow me outside now, unless you would like to stay and enjoy this attention." He lingered next to her for a second before he just started walking towards the exit. This action made her simple irritation and frustration become complete anger. He used her like a tool then left her to fend for herself? It seemed her fate was constantly entwined with overbearing men who thought they were top class but were just "shit" in her mind. Quickly picking up her bags with one hand she followed him out in a hasty pace.

He kept walking and at this point she could have walked off but followed him to see what he had to say. After a couple more steps he stopped and turned towards her looking the complete part of a storybook arrogant CEO but more villainous. There was a short pause of shock as she took in his complete appearance. This entire time she had gotten glimpses but his full face was revealed to her now and she hated to admit she liked it. His eyes were slanted in a nonchalant manner but could easily become a devilish glare. There was a small beauty mark under his eye that made the dangerous look in his eyes almost seem seductive. That is, if his entire body did not exude death, "do-not-come-near-me" vibes. His face was a bit narrow in shape but with sharp features. A solid set of lips, tall, and a tanned complexion that she preferred from the pale, ghost like men she saw in media. He was wearing a maroon suit perfectly fitted with a white dress shirt adding to his charm, it was obvious to see why the arrogant woman from before struggled to let go of this catch. Yet despite how attractive he looked it did nothing to quell the anger in her.

"Thank you for your help just now, I have paid for your meal and if you require any compensation just let me know."

Those words just made her more angry, after all this he thought some money can smooth this over? Of course he didn't have to offer her anything, the verbal thank you may have been enough for her to move on. However, the slight glint in his eyes told her that he looked down on her and saw her as a random rich woman who liked to shop. So he spoke with confidence thinking she would accept his money or gifts immediately. Even as he spoke she saw the subtle glance at her bags reconfirming his biased opinion on her. This again, was not something she needed to take personally but a woman in her position was long gone from reason. To her, his simple claim was mocking her previous self who was stupid enough to die at her brother's hand. She was merely a woman who desired money and gifts to these men, her brother and strangers all saw her the same.

She knew it was the wrong move, every part of her knew logically that she should just take the reward and leave. Yet, her anger overwhelmed her logic and fear. Looking straight at him, she kept her body calm but her eyes turbulent as she responded.

"12 million."

*****

Author's Corner:

*In a couple of months*

ML: You were like a little bull when I first saw you, so angry and ready to attack.

FL: And you were like a hippo, lazy and does no work.

ML: What are you even saying?

FL: Doesn't sound good when its thrown back at you now is it? Bull my butt.

ML:........ *looks to author for support*

Author: ┬┴┬┴┤(･_├┬┴┬┴

I'm not even here right now, this is an illusion.